Curiosity runs 10k on Mars

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

While continuing its trek through a series of shallow valleys between destinations, the NASA Curiosity rover surpassed the 10k mark on Thursday, and has now traveled more than six miles since it first arrived on Mars three years ago, the US space agency has announced.

This month alone, Curiosity has traveled 310 meters (about one-fifth of a mile), but it isn’t just out there joyriding: it is continuing science observations while relocating from the “Pahrump Hills” outcrop where it spend the past six months to its next research destination, “Logan Pass,” which is still approximately 200 meters away in a southwesterly direction.

“We’ve not only been making tracks, but also making important observations to characterize rocks we’re passing, and some farther to the south at selected viewpoints,” explained John Grant of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, a member of the Curiosity science team who is currently serving as the team’s long-term mission planner.

Analyzing geological features known as the Washboard unit

The rover is currently examining the lower slopes of a layered mountain known as Mount Sharp in order to investigate how the region’s ancient environment might have evolved from lakes and rivers into much drier conditions. Some of the sites at Pahrump Hills exposed the basal geological layer of the mountain (also known as the Murray formation).

The trough that Curiosity is driving through is bounded by exposures of nearby, high-standing buttes known that is an example of what is known as the Washboard unit terrain, Grant said. At Logan Pass, he said that the team hopes to investigate the relationship between the two features and to learn more about how environmental conditions were changing.

“The observations we’re making now help establish the context for what we’ll see there,” he said. “The rover’s mobility has been crucial, because that’s what allows us to get to the best sites to investigate. The ability to get to different sections of the rock record builds more confidence in your interpretation of each section.”

Based on observations made by the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, topographically ridged terrain that has been categorized as the Washboard unit can be found at several locations around Mount Sharp, including on the mountains northern and southern flanks. Better understanding the Washboard unit and the processes responsible for forming it could add new context to what they have been studying.

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